DID YOU KNOW THAT JESUS IS INTO YOU?

I chanced upon this quote this morning and it reminded me of the time I left my job. When I did that, everyone around me, wife not included, were aghast. Now, I never professed to leave my job to start this ministry. That was never my intention. I left my job because… I left my job. The same reasons why anyone would leave their job. Jesus just put all the pieces together so that I moved from job to ministry. It was His plan, not mine. I could never have had the ability to put things together the way He did. Yet, even now, when well-meaning friends hear that I am ‘into Christianity’, they all sigh and wonder out-loud saying, ‘When will you grow up?’

This happen to you before? You are on fire for God, you give of your time, you serve, sometimes at your own personal expense; and when the world sees you, they see an impractical, illogical, unrealistic person who is probably making up for a horribly sinful life. Well beloved, take heart. I am sure that when you serve, when you give, when you do the things you do, even at personal expense, it is because you have the same revelation that David did when he said these words.

“God made my life completewhen I placed all the pieces before him.When I got my act together,he gave me a fresh start.Now I’m alert to God’s ways;I don’t take God for granted.Every day I review the ways he works;I try not to miss a trick.I feel put back together,and I’m watching my step.God rewrote the text of my lifewhen I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.” Psalm 18:20-24 [MSG]

Whether you have been put back together after a dilapidating illness, or you had your respect restored to you after being humiliated at work, or you had your finances restored, or you had your marriage restored, or you had your heart restored after a broken relationship; you must have had an encounter with our Father that was so real, and so impactful, that it is able to fuel your trust in Him; and that in turn allows Him to supply all sufficiency to enable you to continue in the loving way that you are treating Him right now.

I’m sure you would have realized by now that true contentment is not really all that the world says it is. It’s not about feeling happy with less. It’s not even about settling for second best. True contentment happens when

“…the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7

And for us who have experienced it, you realize that it is not some ephemeral peace that you get from meditating under a tree or standing on your head while your body is contorted to look like a circus performer, not at all. It is a peace that stems from the very practical, the very tangible, the very base, even, knowledge that just like your problems WERE taken care of in the past, so too they will be taken care of again in the future.

You know, verses such as,

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;” Philippians 4:6

Don’t mean squat if;

(a) you have never experienced their truths in your life; and(b) you forget that you have ever experienced their truths in your life.

So if you are able to be ‘into’ Jesus, that is because you have experienced them and you remember those experiences. Which of course then leads us to the elephant in the room…

If you want to be filled with the peace of Christ and let Him guard your hearts and mind, then all you need to do is look back on your life and recall all those times when He has been real, and then pen them down so that you can always recall them when things get rough.

No amount of verses, no amount of preaching, no amount of miracle services which you attend can ever take the place of that one miracle that was done in your life. Perhaps it was getting that job you always wanted despite you being the least qualified in the queue; or you getting that house which you loved despite the fact that others had made the owner a higher offer than you. Even small miracles like getting a parking lot right next to the entrance of a busy mall during rush hour without you having to wait, can remind you of just how real our Father is, how real His love for you is, more than a ton of verses ever can.

So today I would like to invite you to take some time to revisit your life. Look back at those moments when our Father was real to you, when it was almost as if you could turn around and you would see Jesus’ smiling face right there beside you. Think back on those times and then commit them to memory either by penning them down in your Bibles, or notebook or even your planner.

Done?

So then beloved, when we have those experiences fresh in our minds, suddenly these verses become real again, don’t they?

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;” Philippians 4:6

For “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

And when you read the exhortation of Paul,

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

You know that because it has been, so shall it be in the future for indeed, our Father, “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us”. Ephesians 3:20

But you know what, beloved? For as much as we think we are ‘into’ Jesus, He is always more ‘into’ us than we ever knew. For wasn’t He the one who reached out to you first which made you realize that you were loved so that you would be filled with a passion and love for Him? For as much as we think that we are ‘into’ Jesus, did He not have to be ‘into’ us first so that we can say,

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;So shall I be saved from my enemies.” Psalm 18:1-3

“…I call to God,I cry to God to help me.From his palace he hears my call;my cry brings me right into his presence—a private audience!” Psalm 18:6 [MSG]

And once we were in His presence, did our lives not turn around like this?

“Suddenly, God, you floodlight my life;I’m blazing with glory, God’s glory!I smash the bands of marauders,I vault the highest fences.” Psalm 18:28-29 [MSG]If we were being honest just now, we would have realized that though waves buffeted our lives now and then, we can still say,

“What a God! His roadstretches straight and smooth.Every God-direction is road-tested.Everyone who runs toward himMakes it.” Psalm 18: 30 [MSG]And because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever;” Hebrews 13:8

We can look into our situation now and know that Jesus is as ‘into’ us right now as He has ever been. So we can have faith that, as He was in the past, so is He working right now in your circumstance to turn it around for your good. And He is doing this for no other reason than because He is ‘into’ you.